Power Of Three (Crow Spinoff)

Part 1

"You'll have to pack some stuff," Adam had told me before we left. "Clothes, mainly."

So I did.

I packed all the clothes that could fit in a medium-sized black backpack as well as a few toiletries and then we left. They warned me that the journey would be long. They also promised they'd stick with me the entire time.

I was confused. They barely knew me. Was being nice to strangers some sort of Crow tradition?

"Where are we going, anyway?" I asked, slinging my backpack over my shoulder. We were in the livingroom of my apartment, which sort of embarrassed me because of how messy it was.

"A safehouse," Jason replied. "It'll take us a few days to get there on foot. It's in the middle of a jungle, away from civilization."

"There's only one guy there right now," Adam said, "he's wanted by the government as well, so at least you already have something in common!"

"Ha ha," I said bitterly.

The three of us, backpacks slung over our shoulders, began walking through the city in silence. We didn't have much to talk about, especially in an area where there were ears everywhere.

We walked, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible, until we reached the edge of the city. And then we broke out into a forest.

I'd never been outside the city. This was a new experience for me. I looked up in awe at the trees, surprised at how tall they were. They never grew to be this tall in Genesis.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Adam said smugly. "Wait 'till you see the jungle. They're even bigger there, and even cooler."

"I'd love to fly above them," Jason said wistfully. "Look down at the treetops from a bird's-eye view."

"I'll keep both my feet on the ground, thanks," I said.

We walked, and walked, and walked, in the same direction, for hours. For the most part it was quiet. And then, we stopped.

"Dinner time," Adam said quietly, pointing at something up ahead of us.

A stray sheep.

Out of his backpack he pulled a bow and three arrows, aiming one of them right at the sheep's eye. Then he let it loose.

The sheep died instantly.

Adam pulled a knife out of his bag and directed the two of us to find some firewood, so we did.

It's just like camping, I told myself, trying to pretend I wasn't on the run from the government.

We started a fire, Adam carved up the sheep, and we ate like kings. The sun began to set, setting the sky ablaze with purples and oranges, so we decided to sleep for the night.

~~~

I was awoken by someone gently shaking my shoulder.

"Wake up," a gentle voice said. "We've gotta get moving."

It was Jason. I opened my eyes slowly, adjusting to the morning light, before sitting up and observing my surroundings, trying to remember exactly where I was.

The forest outside of Genesis. Right.

My back hurt from sleeping on the ground.

"Ugh," I groaned, "where's Adam?"

"Checking out a noise," Jason said quietly. "We think we're being watched."

I slung my backpack over my shoulder. I'd been using it as a pillow to sleep on and it was a little squished.

"Watched? By who?" I asked.

"We don't know," Jason said, "but if I had to guess I'd say it was your attackers from yesterday."

My eyes widened. I opened my mouth to say something, but immediately closed it as Adam stumbled into the clearing.

"Guys, guys, guys," he said, pausing to breathe between each word. "We gotta move. Now."

He scooped up his backpack and started running. I exchanged a glance with Jason before following.

"What the hell?" I asked, my heart beating quickly as I ran. "Are we being chased? Is it those guys from yesterday?"

"It's sure as hell someone," Adam said. "Just - run, okay?"

My heart in my throat, I ran. I assumed we were going in the correct direction to get to the jungle but I wasn't sure. Jason was behind me, struggling to keep up.

Eventually, we broke out of the forest and into another city.

"Did we lose them?" Jason asked, slowing down. I matched his pace, and Adam stopped completely to turn around and look.

"Looks like it," Adam said. "But keep your eyes peeled; they could still be looking for us."

Jason nodded. I observed the city. It was much smaller and much more barren than Genesis, which was sort of comforting. I could see the jungle in the distance, the tips of the trees just barely peaking out over the horizon.

"We should get something to eat," Adam said.

"I don't have any money," I said.

"That's okay, I've got it," Jason said with a grin.

"No, no, I can just not eat, that's okay..."

"That's not an option," Jason said firmly. "I'm paying. Please. Just let me do this for you."

Once again, I was confused. Another Crow tradition?

We found a small, cheap diner and sat at a booth, me on one side, Adam and Jason on the other. Our waitress was named Ashley and she had purple hair and smudged eyeliner.

We ate breakfast, making annoying bits of small talk as we did. We didn't wanna talk about anything too compromising as there could have been government ears in this city.

I tapped my fingers on the table while I waited for Jason and Adam to finish eating. I'd ordered something small and inexpensive, as to not make myself feel guilty over wasting Jason's money. I really wished I'd ordered something more, though, because I didn't know when we'd be eating again.

The two of them finished eating quickly, Jason paid, and then we were off again. My legs were already getting tired, and I really hoped I could make it all the way to the jungle.

We wandered the city streets, going in the general direction of the jungle, and-

"HEY!" A voice yelled from behind me. A familiar voice.

It was my attackers from yesterday.

~~~

Mostly uneventful, unfortunately. I don't want to stay on their journey for too too long because that would be fairly boring.

Aaaanyway, that's the chapter! Hope you enjoyed!

Ciao!